Flavio Cobolli defeats Rafael Jódar 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 in Cincinnati Open fourth round

Rafael Jódar was beaten 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 by Flavio Cobolli in the fourth round of the Cincinnati Open on 19 August 2026. The 19-year-old left the court clearly upset, offering the crowd only a brief, almost imperceptible wave.

After a short spell competing at the University of Virginia, Jódar began playing regularly on the tour in May last year and has climbed rapidly since. In August 2025 he was ranked No 540 and he started the 2026 season at No 165; this year he has won his first ATP title in Marrakech, reached the final in Washington and reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Roland Garros. At Masters 1000 level he has reached a semi-final and two quarter-finals, and outside the grass-court season—where he struggled with an abdominal strain—his results have been consistently strong.

Against Cobolli, the seventh seed produced one of his best performances since his run to the French Open final to deny Jódar, who had been within two points of victory on numerous occasions before losing 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3. The match finished with Jódar slowly leaving the court and offering only a fleeting acknowledgement to the spectators.

Jódar arrived in Ohio on the back of a busy fortnight: he reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final in Montreal just over a week ago, a tournament many viewers thought he would win, then staged a late-night comeback from 5-1 down to beat Denis Shapovalov in the second round in Cincinnati. He followed that with a victory over the 22nd seed, Alejandro Tabilo, to reach the third round before meeting Cobolli.

At 6ft 3in, Jódar is noted for powerful, pace-generating groundstrokes from both wings and timing that draws comparison with Jannik Sinner. His ability to change the direction of the ball off both wings and his return of serve are described as elite, while his serve and movement are continuing to improve.

Off-court and on-court behaviours have attracted attention during his rise. Critics have taken issue with various medical timeouts, including one against Taylor Fritz in the Washington final this month, and with repeated incidents of broken shoelaces that have caused extended, sometimes four-minute, delays. At Roland Garros there was a widely discussed moment in his match against Alex Michelson that many believed involved Jódar pushing a ballgirl; broadcasters later showed the sequence to be a camera-angle effect, with Jódar angrily gesturing at the same time the ballgirl stumbled over sandbags on the court edge.

Additional episodes have fuelled debate: Jódar paused the match against Shapovalov several times to change shoelaces, to Shapovalov’s irritation, and two days later returned to court carrying a large transparent bag containing about a dozen Adidas shoes. Observers have also noted his frequent gestures of disgust when ballkids hand him towels or balls slightly late.

Jódar is still 19 and described by some as single-minded, aloof and not always considerate in his interactions with ballkids and volunteers. As he continues to develop on court, his behaviour off court remains a parallel storyline to his rapid ascent.

He leaves Cincinnati with increased profile on the ATP Tour and, at present, he is seventh in the ATP race and a clear candidate for the ATP finals in his first full season as a professional tennis player.